Masks, monarchy and magic: Welsh National Opera at the Hippodrome

Welsh National Opera returns to Bristol Hippodrome from April 10-13, touring its spring season that might best bes summed up as ‘Masks, Monarchy and Magic’. WNO continue their Verdi trilogy (begun last year with La forza del destino and concluding next year with Les Vêpres Siciliennes) with their new production of Un ballo in maschera; Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux is a tale of heartbreak and high treason set in Elizabethan England; and WNO’s Magritte-inspired production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute returns.

Opening the spring season is a new production of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, where love, power and politics collide to create a tale of deception, intrigue and revenge.  The second instalment in WNO’s Verdi trilogy, the production is directed by David Pountney, conducted by Gareth Jones and is a co-production with Oper der Stadt Bonn.

This pic and top pic: WNO’s production of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera. All pics: Bill Cooper

Un ballo in maschera is a study in kingship, and the heady relationship between personal and public affairs.  The story reveals the tragic love triangle between Amelia, her husband Renato and her lover, the King (Riccardo), Renato’s best friend. The King is obsessed with theatre and disguise, and this builds climactically to a masked ball in a backdrop of the growing conspiracy against him from his political and personal enemies.

Despite Riccardo ultimately renouncing his love for Amelia, the culmination of the piece sees Renato discovering the affair and taking matters into his own hands with devastating consequences.

Sung in Italian, Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux is loosely based on the life of the Second Earl of Essex and his close relationship with Queen Elizabeth I. Fascinated by Elizabethan history, Donizetti in fact wrote three operas heavily featuring ‘the Virgin Queen’ and in all three the rumours of a fiery temper and love life are placed at the heart of the story.

Joyce El Khoury as Elisabetta in WNO’s ‘Robert Devereux’

In Roberto Devereux the Queen is romantically linked with the eponymous Earl of Essex as he is tried for treason. Bel canto virtuoso Barry Banks returns to WNO as the titular Devereux, alongside soprano Joyce El-Khoury as Elisabetta, both making role debuts. Also joining the cast are Justina Gringyté as Sara.

Completing the spring season is a revival of Mozart’s ever-popular The Magic Flute. Another tale of royal adventure, this Magritte-inspired production places Prince Tamino’s quest to rescue a princess and find true love into a surreal, dream-like world that features an angry lobster, a newspaper-reading lion and a fish transformed into a bicycle.

The surreal magic of Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’, in WNO’s Magritte-inspired production

The witty story of enchantment and colourful characters alongside Mozart’s music results in a unique piece of opera, particularly well known for its soaring arias sung by The Queen of The Night. Returning to WNO in this role is Samantha Hay. The cast includes Mark Stone as Papageno, Ben Johnson as Tamino, and Anita Watson as Pamina. Making her debut with WNO, soprano Jennifer Davis also appears as First Lady, fresh from her acclaimed engagement as Elsa in Lohengrin at the Royal Opera House.

WNO’s Artistic Director David Pountney says “All three of our operas in this season touch on the issue of kingship. The Magic Flute involves the training of an ideal, enlightened ruler and hopefully suggests that the future will be ruled by an equally matched male and female pair. Roberto Devereux celebrates the power and charisma of one of Britain’s greatest monarchs, and Un ballo in maschera shows what happens when the kingdom becomes the playground for the monarch’s theatrical and amorous fantasies.

“All three pieces capture the thrilling dichotomy between public power and private passion at which opera excels.”

Welsh National Opera return to the Hippodrome from Wed, April 10 to Sat, April 13. For more info, visit www.atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome